Documenting NCCD consultation the right way
A plain-English guide to NCCD consultation: what counts, what to record, examples of strong evidence, and common mistakes to avoid.
On this page
For NCCD purposes, consultation is not an optional extra. The Disability Standards for Education 2005 require schools to consult the student or an associate, such as a parent or carer, about adjustments. The NCCD Guidelines make consultation and collaboration with the student, or their associates, parents, guardians or carers, one of the four general areas of evidence. Notes from working with specialists and other staff can support it.
This does not mean every conversation has to be formal or long. It does mean the school should be able to show that consultation happened, that it relates to the student's disability and adjustments, and that it is documented clearly enough to hold up if the record is checked.
New to the NCCD? Start with What is the NCCD?
What this guide covers
This guide explains what consultation means in NCCD, who it can involve, what counts as evidence, what to record in an entry, weak versus strong examples, and common mistakes to avoid.
What is consultation in NCCD?
In the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD), consultation refers to the discussions the school has with the student or their associate, usually including parents or carers, about the student's disability, the impact on learning, and the adjustments being made. Staff and specialists often take part too.
Consultation is one of the four evidence areas schools are expected to have available. It helps show that decisions about adjustments are informed, collaborative and responsive to the student's needs.
Who can be involved in consultation?
The school must consult the student or their associate, and in most cases parents, guardians or carers too. The others below can take part alongside them, but they do not replace that consultation. The key point is that consultation should be relevant to the student's needs and the adjustments being made. A one-off general email to a family does not on its own show meaningful consultation.
- Parents, carers or guardians
- The student, where appropriate
- Classroom teachers and learning support staff
- School leaders or NCCD coordinators
- Allied health professionals, psychologists or medical specialists
- External agencies or support workers involved in planning or review
When parents are not consulted
In most cases parents, guardians or carers should be consulted. Sometimes that does not happen, for example when it is more appropriate to consult only the student or another associate, or when a family cannot be reached despite several attempts. Under the 2026 NCCD Guidelines, the school must then document the reason. A brief explanation is enough, and a record of the attempts to make contact helps.
Consultation is not the same as consent. Parents do not have to agree with an adjustment, and parental consent is not required for the NCCD itself, because the collection is authorised by law.
This was one of four clarifications in the 2026 Guidelines. The other three are in what changed in the 2026 NCCD Guidelines.
What counts as consultation evidence?
Consultation evidence can take different forms. The Department's evidence fact sheet says templates are optional, so schools can use existing records, as long as they are dated, relevant and linked to the student's support.
The best consultation entries briefly record who was involved, what was discussed, and any decisions or actions that followed.
- Notes from phone calls or meetings with parents or carers
- Emails exchanged with parents, carers or specialists
- Student support group or case conference records
- Meeting notes about agreed adjustments or review of progress
- Records of communication with therapists or other professionals
- Entries in a communication book or contact log
What should you record in a consultation entry?
Strong NCCD consultation records are usually concise but specific. If the consultation relates to a review of progress, note any outcomes or observations. This helps show that consultation is ongoing and connected to the student's educational needs.
- Date of the contact
- Who was involved
- How the consultation occurred (phone call, meeting, email, etc.)
- The issue discussed
- Any adjustments agreed, reviewed or changed
- Any follow-up action or next step
In Superadjust you can log a consultation as its own entry, so it sits beside the adjustments it shaped.
Weak vs strong consultation evidence
The difference between weak and strong NCCD evidence is usually specificity. Weak entries are vague and do not show what was discussed or why it matters. Strong entries name the participants, the topic, and the outcome.
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Spoke to parent. | Phone call with student's parent on 14 March. Discussed difficulty completing written tasks and increased frustration at homework time. Agreed to provide shorter written tasks and visual checklist. Follow-up review planned in two weeks. |
| Parent contacted school. | Email from parent on 3 May reporting that student is anxious about noise during assemblies. Teacher and learning support coordinator discussed use of ear defenders and alternative seating. Adjustments trialled from Week 4. |
| Meeting held with therapist. | Meeting with speech pathologist and class teacher to review communication supports. Agreed to continue visual supports and modelled sentence starters during group tasks. Progress to be monitored across the next four weeks. |
Common mistakes when documenting consultation
Consultation does not need to happen every week, but the school should be able to show that it happened and informed the support provided. The Standards require the consultation; the NCCD Guidelines require evidence of it, kept where the school can find it.
- Logging consultation too vaguely, for example, "parent contacted" with no further detail.
- Recording only a diagnosis or concern rather than what was discussed about adjustments or support.
- Treating consultation as a one-off event rather than an ongoing process across the year.
- Failing to link consultation to the student's educational needs or the adjustments provided.
- Keeping records in personal email inboxes or notebooks that nobody else can find if the record is checked.
- Not recording why parents were not consulted, when they were not.
Summary
Good NCCD consultation evidence shows that the school has worked with the student, parents or carers, and where appropriate other professionals, to understand need and plan or review adjustments. Strong records are dated, specific and clearly linked to the student's support.
If you record who was involved, what was discussed, and what changed or was agreed, your consultation evidence will be far more useful when the record is checked.
Questions
Read next
- Evidence and documentationNCCD evidence examples: strong and weak entries side by sideNCCD evidence examples, weak beside strong, for need, consultation, adjustments and monitoring, at each level of adjustment, with the documents that count as evidence in each area.
- NCCD basicsThe four pillars of NCCD: the four areas of evidence, explainedThe four pillars of NCCD are the Guidelines' four areas of evidence: need, consultation, adjustments, and monitoring and review. What each asks for, the evidence that usually shows it, and one example per pillar.
- Evidence and documentationHow to write NCCD evidence notes mid-lessonA four-part formula (need, adjustment, context, impact) for NCCD evidence notes you can write during a lesson, with weak and stronger examples and a Week 10 check.
Log NCCD evidence in seconds
Free for up to 3 students, no card. A whole school can try the School Plan free for 30 days.